Mother sells newborn son in Punjab while husband's on deathbed in Agra

A migrant woman, Rita, of SBS Nagar, Ludhiana, has been accused of selling her newborn child for 2.5 lakh rupees while her husband was on his deathbed hundreds of miles away in Agra.

The illegal transaction was allegedly conducted in connivance with Rita’s mother, Prema Devi, ASHA worker Renu, a PRO of a Private Hospital, and some accomplices yet to be identified.

Had the husband and father-in-law of the main accused not become suspicious about her statement regarding the gender of the ‘stillborn child’, the dealing in illicit trafficking of human baby could have remained untraced.

Though the Dugri Police have registered an FIR under section 143 (4) and 61 (2) of BNS for alleged conspiracy to sell the newborn male child two months after the crime, the complainant Gajraj Singh, whose son has already died, has accused the investigating team of trying to shield the accused who are absconding from their homes.

The complainant alleged that the FIR was registered only after office bearers and activists of various social organisations, led by Sarpanch Sanjay Tewari, came to his rescue and impressed upon the authorities to either initiate action or face agitation.

Gajraj Singh informed that Rita Rani had given birth to a male child at Government Hospital at Jawadi on July 15, but she had informed him that the child born was a dead girl.

However, she informed his son Sunny that a stillborn male child was born. Both Gajraj Singh and son Sunny were at Agra, where Sunny was undergoing treatment at Shanti Hospital at Agra.

Sunny died at Agra on July 21, and Rita returned with her mother to Ludhiana, thus prompting suspicion in Gajraj’s mind. Study of call recordings and inquiries from sources at various hospitals turned Gajraj’s suspicion into belief, and he allegedly loitered from pillar to post for around two months to get those selling his grandson booked.

It was only after a series of meetings at the office of Sarpanch Sanjay Tewari that the involvement of various persons, including Rita, was established and an FIR was registered on Sunday afternoon.

Dugri SHO Ravinder Singh informed that an FIR was registered after corroborating pieces of evidence against the accused provided to the police on Sunday. Cops led by Balbir Singh have initiated a probe, but no arrest has yet been made.